Doing some research and saw this thread. I talked to him and seems to have a similar view of belt ranking as mine--"belts are worthless outside of the school". I watched some mat work and some sparring, but didn't get much of a feel for the training yet. If you look at the history of J&A, the head instructor doesn't have many years of experience. I met Emfield back in '95 and wasn't impressed with his teaching of Kenpo back then. I haven't gone there yet to see what their classes are like. I'm suprised that there is a lot of bashing of this guy but no one has written a good assessment of his skill, classes, or his students.

Maybe it is because everyone is like you. They say they are going to visit a class and never report back?

Maybe I wasn't clear. I haven't gone to check out Emfield since I returned to Idaho Falls. I went to watch a class at this Idaho Falls MMA Center. Their students had demonstrated some understanding of basic grappling and striking, but being that no belts are worn...I couldn't tell you if they have trained long. He never demonstrated any particular grappling technique, so I couldn't tell you if he has indepth knowledge of grappling. His skills weren't bad, but I'd have to observe more to say if it's worth the money.

Maybe I wasn't clear. I haven't gone to check out Emfield since I returned to Idaho Falls. I went to watch a class at this Idaho Falls MMA Center. Their students had demonstrated some understanding of basic grappling and striking, but being that no belts are worn...I couldn't tell you if they have trained long. He never demonstrated any particular grappling technique, so I couldn't tell you if he has indepth knowledge of grappling. His skills weren't bad, but I'd have to observe more to say if it's worth the money.

SOoooo, I guess everyone is not like me. I had the guts to go.

Well I'm appreciative of it. What is your grappling background, if any, in order to be able to judge there respective level (sounds accusatory but isn't meant to)?

my background

To be honest, I have no formal pedigree with grappling. But I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express.

Actually, I trained with a school that started off with Tae Kwon Do but had many GIs near our base that would train with us and our school morphed from TKD in early 80's to what we called at that time American Freestyle Martial Arts. It was more of a collaborative club that we rolled in techniques from black belts in jujitsu, judo, aikido, kendo, escrima stick fighting, and even ninjitsu. So I primarily picked up throws, wrist/arm locks, chokes, and weapons however very little ground work. In the 90's I also trained in Tracy's system of Kenpo reaching 1st brown with the pedigree of a Tracy recognized school where I taught for about a year. I had achieved 1st black rank at the freestyle school which consisted of 3.5 hrs of weapon fighting, multiple attackers, medium contact kickboxing, throws, submissions, techniques and forms. I taught classes at the freestyle school for several years before moving away.

That being said, this is what I saw:

What I saw with the students was a poor use of the legs to secure their guard positions, weak use of over and under hooks to stick to the attacker when in bottom guard, and in stand up, weak guards to kicks (exposing ribs), dropping guards while kicking, and poor use of distance or angles. This could be that they're still beginners, I couldn't tell since they weren't wearing belts. Eric didn't seem to have these weaknesses which may have been due to the quality of his opponents or indicative that he's had formal training. If the latter, it would show qualities of a poor instructor to identify these weaknesses and correct the students behaviors before they become solidified.

I noticed my school name mentioned on this website. The school instructor in question is, in my opinion, an idiot. He hasn't done at least 1/2 the things he claims. He started out Taekwondo, entered Kenpo in 1995 and to my knowledge has no formal training in aikido, jubo, juijitsu, or MMA. He has not formally trained in Kenpo for at least the three years I was there. He is a manipulator and a disgrace to the term Black Belt. He is not a teacher. Rumor has it that he even promoted himself to 5th degree. Funny, because only a year ago he was a 1st degree. If belts don't matter to him why is he so bent on promoting himself. He was trying that **** when I was there, but I saw right through him. If someone from this website emailed me concerning him... I do not reply to those types of emails with information, Eric has had people email and even call me in the past trying to get information out of me so he can try bashing my school. He has no ethics or morals. As for my years of experience, I believe it to be unwise to base your opinion of me on that. After all, I ran a school as a blue belt and did quite well, just ask the parents of my students.

I noticed my school name mentioned on this website. The school instructor in question is, in my opinion, an idiot. He hasn't done at least 1/2 the things he claims. He started out Taekwondo, entered Kenpo in 1995 and to my knowledge has no formal training in aikido, jubo, juijitsu, or MMA. He has not formally trained in Kenpo for at least the three years I was there. He is a manipulator and a disgrace to the term Black Belt. He is not a teacher. Rumor has it that he even promoted himself to 5th degree. Funny, because only a year ago he was a 1st degree. If belts don't matter to him why is he so bent on promoting himself. He was trying that **** when I was there, but I saw right through him. If someone from this website emailed me concerning him... I do not reply to those types of emails with information, Eric has had people email and even call me in the past trying to get information out of me so he can try bashing my school. He has no ethics or morals. As for my years of experience, I believe it to be unwise to base your opinion of me on that. After all, I ran a school as a blue belt and did quite well, just ask the parents of my students.

I run J&A Karate. I noticed a mention of my school and thought i should inquire. I used to teach and study at Idaho Falls Kenpo Karate. I would not recommend him, nor do I want to hear anymore about him.

He is a piece of work... Anyone that won't give you concrete evidence of their background in a certain style doesn't have a background in that style. They are trying to get you in the door so you feel pressured to stay. I've heard that he is a compulsive liar and hasn't done half of the things he claims.

Yes and no.........

Sorry, but martial arts instruction is a business. And to sell to the common public means you need to name drop the flavor of the week a lot. Being ambiguous about ranking in individual disciplines is a tad odd. But it may be one of those "I am a humble and wise" tactics. Because every ************ I know in this part of the country can't wait to tell you he has a black belt in something.

On a more specific note. A local TKD intructor despises him deeply. For reasons he won't elaborate on. But this local TKD instructor, even though he's a total "it a martial ART fag" and thinks less of me for fighting in a cage, he is a stand up guy. And I'd give his opinion merit.

I agree with tabwyo. I personally could care less if someone has the rank if they know what they're doing. However when you're dealing with an instructor, personnal references are something you should deeply consider. NomoreBS, I didn't hear any bashing of your school...and I thank you for your recommendation.